Bedhead [Jason]

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It had been an overall exhausting day. The alarm clock next to her full-sized bed informed the redhead that it was nearing three in the morning. A groan fell from her lips as she closed the book in front of her and excised her cramping hand. With the sudden rise of crime, the redhead had been forced to put her schoolwork on hold so that she could stick to the streets. However, things piled up incredibly fast for the eighteen year old. Tonight, she insisted on getting completely caught up and now that it was, it was time to go to bed.

Running her fingers through her thick, red curls, Babs turned off the lamp that sat on her cluttered desk and turned toward her bed. Wearing nothing but an over-sized cotton baby blue t-shirt that fell at her shapely thighs, she started plopped herself down. An audible sigh feel from her lips as she removed her glasses and set them on the bed-side table next to her, allowing her hour-glass frame to sink into the mattresses soft exterior. Moonlight poured in through the large window and bathed the room with a limited amount of light.

The window was left open so that a slight spring breeze could grace her bedroom. The moment the redhead hit the pillow, she was enveloped in sleep almost instantly. The stress of the day had finally been lifted and she was allowed to accumulate five short hours of sleep before she had to be up and beat the traffic so that she could arrive to campus at an appropriate time and find a decent parking spot for her bike.

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    Jason sat perched upon the roof of the building right next to the apartment of the Gordons. He hadn't intended to follow Batgirl home, but he was feeling emotionally weak at the moment. No matter how angry Jason acted, he missed it. He missed being one of the Bats. Going on patrol each night with a partner at your sides, maybe throw around a few quips and have some laughs. Then if it was a particularly cold night, Alfred would make some hot chocolate for the teenager. Sure Jason went on patrol each night, but there was never any quips, there was no hot chocolate, and definitley no warm manor, just a cold bunker. Upon seeing a familiar face, Jason snapped and just had to follow, especially since it was Barbara.
      
    Jason had his face resting in his cold, open hands. He looked through Barbara's window and saw her sleeping silhouette. His head began to fill with memories. He remembered his favorite nights, when Bruce was out of town and him and Batgirl would go on patrol together. A small smile crept onto his face. God, it feels like that was just yesterday... But it was years ago. There is nothing left between us. The smile left his face. We were becoming so close... and then... the explosion...
   
    Jason hopped off the roof and grabbed a flower out of the neighbor's garden. He began scaling Barbara's wall, and quietly entered through her window. He stood there and looked at her for a second. She's so peaceful when she sleeps... Jason smiled Ok Jason. Just leave the flower next to her glasses. Jason began walking around bed. As Jason was walking around one of the corners, his foot hooked on one of the bed's feet. He tumbled to the ground and made a loud noise. Crap!

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A loud, alarming noise disrupted the redhead from her sleep, causing her to sit up straight in her bed. Reaching quickly for her glasses, the dazed teenager shoved them quickly onto her face. The only light provided in the room was what little moonlight was left, bathing the intruder. The window remained open, making her swear silently to herself knowing that it was her fault for forgetting to lock and shut it. She reached for that lamp on her bedside table, throwing it forcefully at the figure. He seemed to be male, but with years of formal training under her belt Babs was a bit afraid – just annoyed if anything.

Still from her bed, she called to the stranger that remained in her room. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are – but my father is Police Commissioner and sitting right down stairs.” The redhead shouted, determined to draw some attention. Seizing a pair of police issued handcuffs that she had borrowed from her father long ago after jumping up from her bed, she continued to make a great deal of noise as she intended to capture the intruder.

Another pang of fear struck her. Was this simply an innocent robbery or was this someone who had discovered that innocent little Barbara Gordon spent her evenings as Batgirl rather than homebody librarian? Her paranoia regarding her double life had only intensified after a number of scares the past month. Still, she wasn’t going to let it get the best of her until she had answers.

notes: sorry about the horrid coding and no colorful text, posting from an ipad

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    Jason scrambled to his feet as the red head grabbed her glasses. Jason pulled off his helmet. "Hey! Red! It's me Ja-!" Jason was cut off by a lamp slamming into his head. "OW! For christ's sake Red calm do-" Barbara started yelling.
   
     “I don’t know who the hell you think you are – but my father is Police Commissioner and sitting right down stairs!” "Babs! Shut up someone is going to hear you!" Jason's eyes widened when he saw Barbara grab the handcuffs. Smooth, Jason. This is going well. Barbara began trying to catch him. "Barbara! Cut it out! It's me!" I don't want to do this... But I'm not going to let her handcuff me! Jason dodged Barbara and grabbed her arms, locking them behind her back. The girl was squirming around. "Barbara! Batgirl! Calm down!"

ooc: Sorry for the short post, I have a bit of writer's block!

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Barbara knew who he was by the mask. His persona had littered the news doing unspeakable things. The young redhead was prepared to effectively capture him with ease and deliver the man before her to the police station like she had so many others. As the girl finally moved to attack, he managed to dodger her and seized her from behind. The eighteen year old struggled ruthlessly as he pinned her arms behind her back, forcing her chest out and temporarily capturing her.

A number of possible maneuvers and moves in regards to how to effectively escape raced through her head – but she refrained from making a move. Instead, her eyes focused on the blooming flower that now sat sadly on her bedside table. The redhead stopped struggling instantly, eying its deep red pedals that matched the same shade of red in his hood. “Jason…” She said, almost torn on whether she had happy to see him or in complete disbelief.

“So this is what you are now. Are you here too kill me too…or is that just a new color you are trying on” She said coolly, a mix of emotions racing through the teenagers confused head as she debated between slapping him or kissing him.

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    Jason released the young redhead and pulled off his helmet. He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. "If I didn't know better, Red, I'd think you weren't happy to see me." Jason said, a small smile forming. He walked across the room, sitting in a wood rocking chair. He sighed on the way down. This is going to take alot of explaining...

    Jason rubbed his temple with his gloved fingers. "Sorry about the whole arm-lock thing, but having your father run up the stairs and find me was not exactly what I was hoping for tonight. Besides, you wouldn't calm down." Jason examined the teenage girl. She looked about the same as when Jason died, just older. He noticed she was slouching a bit, and had deep bags under her eyes. "Long night? Let me guess... Studying? You always were quite the bookworm." Jason said sarcastically, trying to cheer the girl up. It was obvious she was adrenaline dumping.

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Barbara whirled around once e released her, turning to face the man she had loved and grieved over only to find out through the media that he was still living. She wasn’t sure what he was doing here, whether or not his feelings were still as vivid as her own or he was simply here to taunt her. “I’m sure you are used to that. With all the messes you have been leaving around town recently I doubt that anyone is happy to see you.” She folded her arms across her chest, looking away stubbornly.

Determined to give him the silent treatment, she reached for the flower he had left on her bedside table, stroking the soft pedals as he spoke. “It’s finals week. So yeah, I guess you can say the books have taken over my life. The blossom brought a smile to her pale lips. She ran her fingers through her long red waves before continuing and started for him, with an almost mischievous smile. Babs sat down on his lip, “Jason...” she cooed. “I’ve missed you.” The redhead whispered into his ear, giving it a nibble to distract him as she reached into the drawstring back that hung from the rocking chair. Inside it contained her utility belt. Quickly feeling for what she was looking for, she held the device to his neck in a threatening manner.

“You have ten minutes to explain yourself or I’m turning you in – and don’t think I won’t. How are you here- I mean….they told me you were dead! And now here you are going around…and you’ve killed….who are you anymore?”

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    Jason's face turned a dark red as he felt the girl's lip move next to his ear. He felt her arm reaching for something, but he was too distracted to do anything about it. He cursed himself in his mind as he felt the cold metal of the taser press against his neck. His face turned a ghostly white. He had been stupid. Barbara had pulled a 'Posion Ivy' and he fell for it. He had to figure out what to do next.

     “You have ten minutes to explain yourself or I’m turning you in – and don’t think I won’t. How are you here- I mean….they told me you were dead! And now here you are going around…and you’ve killed….who are you anymore?”

    Jason's mind swam. What was he going to do? He dared not move quickly, in fear of a disabling amount of electric volts moving through his neck. Jason's normal skin color began to come back as he had an idea. He was going to pull her own trick on her.

    "Barbara, calm down. Take the taser away and I can explain this in a calm manner, like adults. Besides, you'd hate to knock me out, because" Jason moved his face slowly towards the teenage girl's, not moving too quickly so she wouldn't turn the taser on. He stopped when his lip's were about an inch away from her's. He began to finish his sentence, reaching for the holster on his hip as he spoke. "I really have missed you..." As he finished his sentence he pressed the cold steel muzzle of his favorite gun against her bushy red hair.

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Here she was, straddling her ex-partner whom she believed dead in nothing more than an over-sized T-shirt. Holding a high-powered taser to his neck in a threatening manner, she couldn’t help but smirk in victory. She had the upper hand, positive that he would give her the answers the she craved. She pressed the device harder into his neck as if to provoke him to speak a bit quicker rather than taking his own time. Her thighs rested on either side of his lap and she didn’t bother to move, knowing that the second she decided to he could easily catch her off balance and disarm her. While they were equally matched for each other, he was much bigger than her – and with this new mindset she was almost afraid to underestimate him.

“I’m not going to take it away until you explain everything to me. I think I at least deserve that.” She whispered as his face grew closer to hers. Internally she knew she should push him against the back of the chair and keep him in check, but there was just something that made that impossible. The teenage girl foolishly allowed him to move closer, his lips close to hers. Still, she didn’t bother to move the taser, instead positioning it underneath his defined jawline that she was used to pepping kisses along. “Have y-“ she allowed her sentence to fall as she felt the gun pressed to her head. She clenched her jaw, furious that she had allowed herself to fall for his charm.

She was half tempted to release the charge into his neck, knowing that the electricity would render him unconscious. However, the threat of being killed was enough to prevent her from doing so. “I should have known the ‘new you’ would go that route. What happens now?” She asked. The ball was in his court.

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Jason looked Barbara in the eye and smiled, he knew that what happens next was for him to decide. Barbara wouldn't dare do anything stupid with a gun trained against her head. He stifled a laugh. Little did she know that the Man's .22 was loaded with rubber bullets. It wouldn't kill her, but it would leave a nasty bruise. He shifted his eyes and looked at the taser near his jaw line. Barbara was distracted and wasn't pressing the taser directly on his skin. It was about a centimeter away.

Alright, Jason. Think. She is obviously anxious, that means she is going to be a bit trigger happy. She has already pulled the trigger halfway down. It'll take her about .7 seconds to pull the trigger the rest of the way. It'll take about .5 seconds for the electric charge to get to my neck, so altogether 1.2 seconds. Good. That problem is out of the way, Ican pull my trigger faster than that. Alright. Next problem. I'll need to come up with a plan just in case she knocks my gun out of my hand. In her current position she is exposed to attacks. When she tried to distract me she didn't think a lot about her defenses. If my gun got knocked away it looks like I could easily take her down with pressure points in her neck or a swift elbow to the gut. If worst comes to worst, I am bigger than her, so I could stand up quickly, knocking her to the ground and then push her into the floor with an arm lock. None of these options I prefer, but I'm not going to be taken down. The teenage boy thought to himself.

"Well, from the way it looks, we have four options. You can put down the taser and we can talk about this like actual human beings, we can sit here in a stalemate, we can play 'Who can pull their trigger faster', or we can be the trained assault monkey's Bruce made us and see who can disable the other person first. However, I prefer the first option." Jason said in a sort of sarcastic tone.

OOC: sorry for no pretty colors. I'm on mobile.

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Barbara met his gaze, practically trapped by his eyes and searching for some kind of truth in them. The redhead wasn’t sure what to do in such a position. While she knew she could easily unarm him – was it completely wise to do so? While she used to be aware of his arsenal, his recent transformation gave him the element of surprise. He knew all of her moves, her weapons and her signature flaws. The redhead’s gaze wavered for a moment as she looked down, released a sigh and sat the taser on the bookshelf behind him aggressively.

“Alright. I’m going to choose option one. Now it’s time for you to lower your gun and we can start talking.” She blushed slightly when she realized that she was still straddling him, a great deal of memories flooding her memory. The power was in his seat and she didn’t want to move until the end of the gun was no longer directed at her temple in case she startled him enough to fire. "I don't trust you." She stated though it was clear by the taser that had formerly been placed against his jugular that she didn't.

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Jason lowered his gun and took the clip out. He set the two objects onto the bookshelf next to the taser.

"Don't think I don't have another gun ready."

"I don't trust you."
   
Jason looked down at this comment. It was obvious she didn't trust him even before she said it, but it still stung a little bit. He chewed his lip and looked back up at Barbara. From the look in his eyes anyone would be able to tell he was hurt by the comment. He forced a smile onto his face. He hated showing emotions, so tried to put on some sarcasm.

 "Wow, after all we went through, that hurts, Red." Jason said with a playful tone that you could tell was forced. "I guess it really changes things... Dieing, that is...You said you had questions. Ask them." The hurt boy gave up on hiding his hurt. Barbara knew him well enough, he knew she would be able to read his emotions. He dared not look the teenage girl in the eye, so he fixed his line of sight on the wall to his right. He winced in pain as Barbara's knees dug into his body. "So are we going to just sit here, rather awkwardly might I add, or are you going to talk?"

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The red-haired beauty watched with sad eyes as he moved to place his gun next to her former weapon. She might have been slightly more hopeful if it weren’t for the words that he had used to accompany the action. Babs would have been foolish to think that he didn’t have another gun at the ready and she looked down for a moment. “Is that a threat or are you just informing me of what’s to come?” She asked, moving from her spot on his lap to stand instead. She didn’t think that her comment would hit him as hard as it did, but it appeared as though there was more to him than his new image lead her to think.

“You just held a gun to my head and you expect me to trust you? I am not stupid. I have heard about your little vendetta against Bruce, I know the crimes you have been committed. I mean, why? Why are you doing this?” She hugged her frame, shivering slightly from the night breeze that wafted in through the open window. The thin material of the simple shirt she was wearing was nothing to shield her from the cold. “I mean, am I just another target? Or am I still your Red? What’s going on with you, Jason?”

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Jason was beginning to get angry. None of this is what he had hoped for tonight. 

"In case you hadn't noticed, you were pressing a high voltage taser against my neck!" Jason said, standing up and throwing his arms in the air. His anger was welling up in side. He chewed the back of his lip, trying to calm himself, but he already knew it was of no use. He turned around and put his hands on his head as one last final calming attempt, but he was about to burst. He looked back at Barbara.

"You want to know why I do this? Because I'm angry! I'm angrier than anyone can ever imagine. But here now I'm going to have you imagine what I wen through! Imagine, Barbara! Imagine that you find out your real mother is actually alive! You search the world and finally find her, just to find out she is working for the Joker. And then imagine watching the Joker torture that same mother, before he came over to torture you. Imagine, that after all that torture, the moment you expect Bruce to swing in and save the day, you get blown up!" Jason was yelling now. "Imagine waking up in your coffin! Having to claw your way out, and limp across Gotham with only two memories, the memories of your death, and the man who didn't save you! Then some of Bruce's enemies, the Al Ghul's take you in, heal you, and give you back the rest of the memories. Now after that, imagine you think everything is ok, you go back to Gotham to see the people! The people who you thought avenged your death! To find that all they did was stick that guy in the loony-bin! The man who killed me! And all any of you did was stick him in Arkham. You got killed, and the man you thought was your father, the guy you thought was your brother, and the girl you thought you loved, did nothing! So that is why I do this, Barbara. Because I'm angry and I'm not going to let anything else these madmen do go unavenged!" Jason yelled. He tuned around and slammed his hand down on the bookshelf. He took deep breaths again trying to calm himself. He walked over to the window and looked out. He considered jumping out and running away from the mess of a night this had become. "Are you still my Red, Barbara? I came here tonight thinking you were. Thinking I was the one who changed and it was all my fault. But after tonight, it's obvious you are the one who's changed." Jason looked back at Barbara, who was shivering. He walked over and put his jacket around her shoulders. He tucked his head away avoiding her eyes. "It's insulated. You'll warm up soon." He stood in front of her, arms crossed and looking at the ground, waiting for a reply.

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“Please Jason; it wasn’t like I was actually going to use it. I just- I don’t know.” She said, shaking her head almost defeated. She wasn’t sure what to think or say anymore, her mouth open but words failing to evacuate her lips. She folded her arms across her chest in an almost insecure fashion, hugging herself in order to keep warm. Part of her was angry and repulsed for how much he had changed, but grateful that he was here in her room just like old times –sort of. A mix of painful emotions raced through her head as she tried to sort out her feelings and he explained himself.

His screaming startled her, causing her to tremble slightly as she could only imagine what he had been through. The Joker had certainly taken his toll on the bat family, but it broke her heart to think that Jason didn’t think he was avenged. “Putting him in Arkham to rot was our way of avenging you Jason! Allowing him to die for all of the horrible things he had done was a cop out. He deserved to sit there in chains and a strait jacket, all alone for the rest of his miserable life…we just didn’t expect him to find a way out.” She jumped as he slammed his hand down on the bookshelf, her guilt only increasing. Barbara had listened to Bruce, assuming that they had done the right thing but it was heartbreaking to hear that he didn’t think that they had. “Besides, you know that if we were to go against everything we have stood for in the past and actually killed him – who would Gotham look too? It would only put us on the same level as the Joker. We didn’t think you would want that…”

“Please don’t leave.” She said as he moved toward the open window, fearing that he was going to leave all of this tension unresolved. The redhead didn’t move as he draped his jacked over her shoulders, but she did mutter a small ‘thank you’. The silence took over the room, other than the footsteps that began to sound from below. She could tell that the loud noise had awoken her parents and now they were sure to head toward her bedroom at any moment. “I’m still yours-“ She began, lowering her voice as she sent fearful glances toward the door. “I just – I just thought you were coming here for a different reason. I’m sorry, Jason. I’m sorry I didn’t do more. When you died I just sat there for days….I just sat there unable to move or eat. I didn’t know what to do! I was devastated!”

She ran her fingers through her red waves and took a deep, shaky breath. A harsh pounding on the door and a stern voice demanded to be let in. “Barbara! Are you alright? Barbara? What’s going on?” Her eyes grew wide in fear as she looked to Jason. The door handle began to twist despite the fact that the door was locked. She moved over to Jason, her eyes wide. “We need to finish talking – take me to the roof?” She asked, knowing it was only a matter of time before her father got into her room.